Snowmobiling

Part of the beauty of living in the country is going out to your yard at nine o'clock at night and riding the snowmobile... and no one gets mad at you for making too much noise! Eddie brought the kids over to ride, but I think he's the biggest kid of all! (the picture on the top right shows how much air he got jumping over the snow covered dirt piles!) BJ learned how to drive- and I had my memory refreshed... I can't believe I went outside of the house dressed in camo!! I have NO IDEA where my snow attire is, since I haven't worn it in three years- and I felt the urge to play too! So Brian gave me some of his hunting gear to bundle up in.

NOTE TO ALL THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS: it's 11 degrees outside!!!!

(No Martha- I haven't been drinking my bath water.... but I could really use some WINE!!!)

Eva's closet

I'm pretty sure that my Mom is the only one on the planet that wants to see a picture of Eva's closet (the queen of organization... all right, maybe Martha would want to see it too!?!?) We now have lots of space for clothes- even play dress up clothes on the bottom closet rod. And we put a mirror up next to the closet for her to check herself out in! I couldn't get her to stop looking at herself to take a picture, so I asked her if Mommy was in the mirror. She gets a kick out of that!

P.S. You have to zoom in on Eva's face in the top picture- her faces are so funny!

Movie Star!

What a ham! This is another one of Eva's "take my Pit-chure" moments... who can say no to that!

Catch of the Day

Check out BJ's BIG fish!! I have a feeling that he had to have some help bringing this big boy in!! Papa, Grama and BJ went fishing in the bay today-- LUCKY boy I'd say!

BJ and Papa

What a lucky kid that BJ is!! We're all sitting here in the snow- and he's livin' it up on the boat and out to dinner!
We miss you BJ- do you remember us? Your FREEZING family!?!?

Don't burn the House Down!!!

Alex is getting SO OLD, that his candles are going to set the house on FIRE!

Happy 12th Birthday Alex!!

Girls vs. Boys

The quiet girls...
...so sweet and innocent...
... AND THOSE CRAZY BOYS!!!

Monster Child

Oh no... not little Evee... she wouldn't be a monster! I swear she's taking right after her big brother Collin-- with the faces and the attitude!
I was trying to get a nice picture of her in her "Grama" outfit- but she was too distracted by the bouncy bed...
... and all the bugs above her!

Isn't the outfit adorable, though? It finally fits- and perfectly I might add!... you'd think that it was custom made for her, or something!

Nap Time

Eva is adjusting WAY better than I thought she would... she went right down for her nap too. She loves her big girl bed. (P.S. Pay no attention to the grape juice on the carpet- I'll get it later!)

Big Girl Bed

Evee was so excited to help fix her room and put her big girl bed together today... she was SOOOO helpful. I finally put shelves in her closet, so we could use it properly... it's not just a heaping pile of stuff anymore.

I was supposed to go to Auburn today to paint some more, but it was just so cold, and SO snowy, and I'm SOOO tired! I ended up taking a nap when Eva did- and now look at what time it is... can't win!!

Anyway... our bundle of energy, is bundled up in her new quilt that Grama and Mommy made for her... in her brand new "Big Girl Bed"! We had a little trouble when we had to remove the crib- a little crying and a little negotiating about her paci- we were discussing how big she is now and how big girls don't need a paci. (We've been tapering off of the pacifier, and only having it at bed time.) But she "NEEDED" it, when she realized there were some changes going on. Giving her the paci made it completely fine to take the crib out of her room. (???) We hung more bugs up above her bed too... cutesy, girly bugs- not creepy ones like the boys would have wanted! She went to bed with no problem-- we'll see if all is well by morning though!

Julie and Karen

This was a special picture for my Mom- the girls wanted to say hello (F.Y.I. they are just as CRAZY as ever!!!)

Eva's new BUDDIES!

Eva made a few friends this past weekend... of course she has them all wrapped around her little finger!
I don't think she's felt this way since our summer trip to Maine with Zachary!

A New Family

Little Mikey (same age as my brother Josh), his girlfriend Lisa, and their beautiful three month old baby girl, Sydney Hannah... What a nice family!

The Kids in Long Island

The crazy boys- BJ, Collin, Robbie and BIG Jake...










...and the quiet girls- Eva, Katie and a couple of Katie's friends from school.

Baby Sydney

Eva thought that Baby Sydney was her own personal baby doll... she had to "help" with everything!

Jenn's Family

We were able to spend some time with Jenn, Chris and the kids when we went down to Long Island (they live about half an hour from Aunt Vaughn and Uncle Ben's house). You have no idea how much I wish we could see each other more! The guys are practically the same person- and Jenn and I have been friends for... I have to think... I think we met in 5th grade (help me out Jen)- so 22 years!

The kids had fun playing with the hermit crabs and in the toy room... McKenna and Eva spent some time trying to establish who was in charge!-- Especially when it came to the baby dolls! So there was a little bit of fighting going on, but they're two, so it's kind of expected!

Their house is so nice- Jenn has decorated with a beachy theme, since the beach is only a few houses down the block. I can't wait to see the new kids' room... (we just happened to swing by IKEA while we were there- and Jenn found perfect fabrics and accessories for the new theme!)

We are getting old though- we were all falling asleep by ten o'clock! Ten years ago we would have played cards until the AM- oh how times have changed! I wish we could get together every weekend- but at least we could catch up for a little while- it was so good to see you all!

Two years later...

Oh, how time has changed our babies...
...and how much is still them same!

Marshmellow Shooters

Now I understand why Tom said that the GIANT bag of marshmellows, that I saw at their house last week, was a surprise!!! I was thinking that they were for some kind of "Martha special" baked treat!

The boys were so funny when they opened their birthday presents (Auntie M and Uncle Tom were out of town for their birthdays- but would never forget!!)- Eva snatched the bag and wanted it opened for her to eat- before the boys even got their shooters put together! I've already had to declare them "outdoor" toys, though... there were marshmellows everywhere! I guess you're only little once! Besides that-- the dog is always perfectly willing to clean up after them! They went outside to see how FAR you could shoot them! SUCH A BOY TOY!

Thank you Uncle Tom and Aunt Martha- I'd have to say that the faces in these photos speak for themselves! We'll have to bring them to YOUR house when we come visit! Do you think FISH eat MARSHMELLOWS??? ;)

Valentine's Day

Madison's Birthday Party

We had a big day today, with the show AND a birthday party! But we wouldn't miss our buddy Maddy's party! She turned five and had a YMCA pool party... what fun it is to swim in February!! In the last picture in the second row, you'll notice that Eva appears to be SCREAMING... well, she was "calling" her brother to come help her swim! She's a bit demanding... all right A LOT demanding... but they cater to her every wish, so I don't feel bad for them!! I do feel bad for ME, when I have to repair the damage and deal with the attitude! ("We've" been much better about it lately, though!)
Eva had so much fun swimming that we had to drag her out of there... we just mentioned the "cake" word... and she was okay with it!!

Happy Birthday Maddy!!